Calvin m



(No Model.) v

0. M. JONES.

. ROAD SGRAPER AND EXGAVATOR. No. 314,185. Patented Mar. 17, 1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIca.

CALVIN M. JONES, OF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS R. BROWN, OF SAME PLACE.

ROAD-SCRAPER AND EXCAVATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 314,135, dated March 17, 1885.

Application filed July 10, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CALVIN M. J ONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fresno, in the county of Fresno and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Road-Scrapers and Excavators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of machines which are employed for scraping off earth in the formation of road-beds, for excavating, ditching, and bank-building purposes, and for cleaning roads and streets.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of devices hereinafter r 5 described and claimed,whereby the draft force for drawing the scraper over the ground is applied forward of the centers of the end heads of the scraper, so that the tendency of the scoop to rotate is obviated.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rotary excavator embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same, showing its position when the load is being dumped. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, 2 5 showing one of the transporting-wheels removed to expose the scoop and locking mechamsm,

The reference numeral 1 denotes the frame of the machine,which has a central tongue, 2,

0 and whiffletrees in front for the attachment of the draft-animals. The side bars of the frame 1 are provided with suitable boxes or bearings for a transverse shaft, 3, which has end spindles,on which rotate ground or bearing wheels 4, the shaft itself being fixed in its bearings and extending entirely across the machine. A scoop or excavating-shovel, 5, is fitted or hung on the shaft 3, and is capable of rotating thereon in the manner hereinafter described.

The scoop is composedof a curved bottom plate or apron having its front made straight,

so as to present a proper working or excavating edge, and the end heads or disks, 8, that are attached to the bottom plate, 7, in any 5 preferred manner. The end heads are made circular, and the surface of the curved portion of the plate 7 conforms to a portion of the peripheries of said end heads, as is more readily apparent from Fig. 2 of the drawings. In the central portion of each end head 8 is formed a slot, 9, and through these slots the shaft 3 passes in such a manner that the scoop can make a complete revolution upon said shaft. The shaft 3 also bears a lever, 10, that is capable of being moved in an endwise direction thereon, and carries a suitable projection or stop, 11, which engages with a ratchet cam-plate, 12, on the side of one of the end heads of the scoop. This lever 10 slides upon a curved segment or rack-bar, 13, that is mounted upon the frame 1, and its function is to hold the excavating-scoop in a stationary position during the performance of its work, or while a load is being collected. A spring, 14, bears upon the lever, and serves to hold it in engagement with the cam-plate on the scoop, and, if desired, the rack-plate which holds the lever at different angles may be made elastic, so that it can moveor spring laterally for exerting the proper pressure upon the lever. It will be evident that the lever and its adjuncts serve as means for locking the scoop to the frame or holding it stationary during the performance of the scooping or excavating operation; furthermore, by moving it up or down on the rack-bar it can be set at difierentangles in relation to the ground,

according to the depth it is to penetrate.

After a load or a proper amount of earth has been collected, and the latter is to be dumped, the lever is unlocked from the scoop, thus allowing the latter to rotate on the central shaft, 3, and return again to its normal position ready for repeated work. The operation of dumping may be described as a complete rotation of the scoop, effected by moving the machine forward when the scoop is in an unlocked position, thus allowing the wheeled frame to rise above the ground, and causing the working or front edge of the scoop to first assume a vertical position in relation to said ground, and then continue its rearward movement until the circular disks or end heads of the scoop strike the ground, when the transporting-wheels also assume their original position upon the ground. The onward movement of the machine thereupon effects a complete rotation of the scoop through the instrumentality of the end heads of the scoop,which then virtually become wheels for said scoop to carry it around again to its original position. As the scoop revolves, the lever is automatically pressed aside by the cam on the scoop and locked when the notch in the cam and projection on the cam'are'coincident.

The capability of the scoop to rotate in the above-described manner is mainly due to the presence of the slots in the end heads, as will readily be apparent. It should be stated that said slots may be surrounded by metal plates or casings having elongated slots, so as to give an increased bearing for the shaft on which the scoop rotates. It will be evident that if the slots were not present in the end heads the draft force for drawing the scraper over the ground would not be applied forward of the centers of the end heads, but that by such slots the tendency of the scoop to rotate which would otherwise exist is obviated, and when the scoop is rotated, upon releasing the locking-lever, the slots will allow the axle of the wheels to move in the slots,and in consequence thereof the end heads need not be so large as if the axle were fitted snugly in a hole in the I end heads. I

lVhat I claim is- 1. An excavator or road-scraper consisting, essentially, of a wheeled supporting-frame, a rotary scoop or shovel having circular end heads provided with slotted bearings, a central shaft fitted in the latter, and suitable devices for locking the scoop to the frame and releasing it therefrom, substantially as de scribed.

2. In an excavator or road-scraper,the com- CALVIN M. JONES.

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O. G. SAYLE, JAMES E. FABER' 

